Sole Proprietor Fined & Put on Probation after Injury to Worker/Family Member

A worker for a sole proprietor, who was also a family member, was washing exterior windows at an apartment complex. A rope attached to a boatswain chair that he was suspended from snapped, causing him to fall seven stories and crash through a glass atrium to the ground below. He suffered serious injuries. The sole proprietor pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that a worker executed his duties as a window washer with adequate equipment, to develop and implement safe work procedures for workers working alone while window cleaning, and to ensure that a fall protection system being used at a worksite was inspected before use. The court fined him $7,806 and put him on probation for 18 months [George Piper, Govt. News Release, Aug. 25, 2016].